Mary Jane Watson (Earth-616)
MARY JANE WATSON Real Name: Mary Jane Watson-Parker Nicknames: M.J. Former Aliases: No known former aliases Other Current Aliases: No other known current aliases Occupation: Former student, professional fashion model and actress Legal Status: Citizen of the United States with no criminal record Identity: Publicly known Marital Status: Married Group Affiliation: No known group affiliation Base of Operations: New York, New York Place of Birth: Place of birth unknown Known Relatives: Philip Watson (father), Madeline Watson (mother, deceased), Judge Spencer Watson (uncle), Martha (aunt), Gayle Watson Byrnes (sister), Timothy Byrnes (ex-brother-in-law), Tommy Byrnes, Kevin Byrnes (nephews), Frank Brown (mother's cousin), Peter Parker (Spider-Man, husband), May Parker (husband's aunt) First Appearance: (first mentioned) AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #15, (first appeared, but with face unrevealed) AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #25, (face revealed) AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #42 Origin: Origin unknown. History: Mary Jane Watson-Parker is the daughter of Philip and Madeline Watson, who met as students in college. Although Madeline wanted to move to New York City to pursue an acting career, she gave up this ambition to be with her husband, Philip, who took a teaching position at a small college. Mary Jane's sister, Gayle, was born about eighteen months after their marriage, and Mary Jane herself was born four years later. Philip was an alcoholic and the marriage of Mary Jane's parents was an unhappy one. Philip Watson kept changing teaching jobs and moving form one college to another. In order to make friends as her family moved to different locations, May Jane began developing the extroverted, fun-loving personality that she would cultivate for years to come. Her good humor was her means of compensating for and escaping from her deep unhappiness over the growing tension in her family. Finally, Madeline left Philip, taking her daughters with her, and went to stay with various relatives. Mary Jane's favorite relative outside her immediate family was her aunt, Anna Watson. Anna introduced Mary Jane to her friend and neighbor, May Parker, whose nephew, Peter, was only a year older than Mary Jane. Mary Jane first saw Peter out of a window of Anna's house one autumn when she was twelve or thirteen; he was sweeping leaves and did not see her. It was in Peter's sophomore year that he underwent the accident that gave him his superhuman powers and he took on the secret costumed identity of Spider-Man. Mary Jane, Gayle, and their mother moved in with Madeline's cousin, Frank Brown. Gayle began dating high school honors student Timothy Byrnes and continued her studies if dance. Mary Jane began doing amateur acting in school and dreamed of someday becoming a famous actress on Broadway of in films. Her performance early on as Juliet in a school production of Romeo and Juliet was not a success, but she later did far better playing Blanche DuBois in a high school production of A Streetcar Named Desire. Over these years she also performed in other school plays and at least one musical. After graduating high school, Gayle gave up her dance studies and married Timothy Byrnes; she soon became pregnant. Mary Jane first saw Peter Parker as Spider-Man when he performed on television soon after gaining his superhuman powers. She was impressed by him, thinking he was a kindred spirit to her. Mary Jane was visiting her aunt Anna on the night when an unidentified burglar shot and killed Peter Parker's uncle Ben. Watching from a window, Mary Jane saw the frantic Peter run into his house and then saw Spider-Man emerge from the Parker house's upstairs window. Mary Jane immediately realized that Peter Parker was Spider-Man, but she decided to keep the information to herself, unable to deal with the confused emotions the discovery awakened in her. Peter, Peter's aunt May Parker and Anna Watson tried to set up a date between Peter and Mary Jane, who still had not actually met each other. May thought that Mary Jane had much in common with Peter and would make a good girlfriend for him. May even hoped that Peter would someday marry Mary Jane. May did not tell Peter about Mary Jane's past but tried to get him to meet and date her. Peter, however, had already fallen in love with secretary Betty Brant, and was being flirted with by his classmate, Liz Allan. He did not want any further romantic entanglement and, moreover, assumed that a girl his aunt wanted him to date would probably be dull and unattractive. Knowing Peter was Spider-Man, Mary Jane did not want to get involved with him and called off the date. One day Mary Jane came to May Parker's house, where May hoped she would finally meet Peter, but Peter was absent, since, as Spider-Man he was busy fighting the first of the Spider-Slayer robots. However, Betty Brant and Liz Allan dropped by the house and were astounded by the beauty of the girl they immediately regarded as their competitor for Peter. However, Peter's romantic relationships with Betty and Liz came to an end, although he has remained a close friend of both. He began his college work at New York City's Empire State University, where he met and became attracted to a fellow student, Gwendolyne Stacy. Gayle and Timothy Byrnes had their first son. However, the stress that Timothy suffered in trying to support a family while attending college led to marital discord, and Timothy left Gayle after she again became pregnant. Mary Jane was pained by the family turmoil, but found escape from her troubles in her acting and partying. Soon, Madeline fell seriously ill. Mary Jane gave up her acting at school and took a series of after-school jobs to help support the family. However, Madeline finally died, and Mary Jane, terribly upset, left home. She was determined not to sacrifice her dreams of happiness as Madeline, Gayle, and Timothy had done. She arrived at Anna Watson's house on a Saturday, and Anna decided to invite May and Peter Parker over for Sunday dinner so Mary Jane could finally meet him. That Sunday Mary Jane found an apartment for herself in Manhattan's East Village. Later that day the Parkers arrived at Anna Watson's house for dinner. When Anna introduced Peter to Mary Jane, he was immediately overwhelmed by her beauty and charm. After dinner Peter and Mary Jane watched a rock music program on television, which was interrupted by a news bulletin about the escape of Spider-Man's enemy, the Rhino. Perhaps realizing that Peter would want to go after the Rhino as Spider-Man, Mary Jane suggested they go on his new motorcycle to see if they could spot the escaped criminal. Peter agreed, but after they found the Rhino, Peter left her, claiming that he had to take pictures in his role as a freelance photographer for New York City's Daily Bugle. Mary Jane was delighted to see Spider-Man appear a short time later to battle Rhino. Soon afterwards, Peter introduced Mary Jane to his friends, Gwen Stacy, Harry Osborn, and Flash Thompson. Gwen was jealous of Mary Jane, who then went on a date with Peter. Shortly thereafter, Mary Jane went on a date with Osborn. But later still, Osborn arranged a double date: himself with Gwen, and Peter with Mary Jane. Gwen was still jealous, and Peter, though he was strongly attracted to Mary Jane, found himself still more interested in Gwen. Gwen and Mary Jane competed for Peter for some time, but Peter and Gwen continued to grow closer together. Mary Jane was hired as a dancer at a New York City dance club called the Gloom Room, which was secretly a front for the crime lord known as the Kingpin. During a gunfight there, a criminal tried to use Mary Jane as a shield, but Spider-Man rescued her. This was Mary Jane's first meeting with Peter Parker in his Spider-Man guise. During a temporary split between Peter and Gwen, Mary Jane tied to become Peter's girlfriend again. However, Peter was deeply in love with Gwen and turned Mary Jane down, to Mary Jane's surprise. Gwen and Peter resumed their relationship, which grew increasingly strong. Mary Jane went back to being Harry Osborn's girlfriend, but still flirted with Peter. Later, Harry's father, Norman, who was secretly the first criminal known as the Green Goblin, murdered Gwen Stacy to take revenge on Spider-Man, whom he knew to be Peter Parker. After Gwen's death was avenged, the disconsolate Parker returned to his apartment to find a sorrowful Mary Jane waiting there for him. Angry and distraught, Peter rejected her sympathy, charging that the happy-go-lucky Mary Jane would not be upset if her own mother died. Peter did not realize that, in fact, Mary Jane had lost her mother. Remembering her own past heartbreaks, Mary stayed with Peter to comfort him. Mary Jane broke up with Harry Osborn, who was becoming increasingly unstable as a result of his father's death. But, claiming she was tired of Peter's depression, she decided not to become further involved with him. Subsequently, Peter, as Spider-Man, rescued Mary Jane from the third Vulture. At a party, Mary Jane feigned indifference toward Peter. But later that night she said that she did not want to be in love with Peter because she liked him too much. Presumably, Mary Jane feared somehow being emotionally hurt in a serious relationship with Peter similar to the way she had been hurt in relationships with member of her family. Nevertheless, Mary Jane and Peter continued seeing each other. Harry Osborn went mad, became the second Green Goblin, and set a bomb that nearly killed Mary Jane and Peter. Mary Jane was hospitalized, and Peter was greatly concerned about her. Later, the second Goblin captured Mary Jane in an attempt to strike at Spider-Man, but she was unharmed and was released safely. Just before he left on a trip to Europe, Mary Jane and Peter exchanged a long, passionate kiss at the airport that was a turning point in their relationship. Mary Jane realized that their relationship was becoming serious and was astonished to discover the depth of her own feelings for Peter. The and after returning, it seemed for a brief while the married Jane might lose Peter to young woman who was a look-alike for the deceased Gwen Stacy. May Parker, still determined on a match between Mary Jane and Peter, urged Mary Jane to take the initiative in winning Peter back. After Peter and the Gwen look-alike agreed to part, Peter found in Mary Jane waiting for him at his apartment and he was overjoyed to see her. Peter realized that he was in love with Mary Jane and even hinted to her shortly afterwards that he wanted to marry her. Sometime later, Mary Jane became angry and Peter when he left her on a date so he could investigate the killing as Spider-Man. She retaliated by going on a date with Flash Thompson. Mary Jane told Peter that she was uncomfortable with having a serious relationship and disappointed of the way he was continually leaving her to take photographs for the Bugle. (Of course, she knew he was actually leading to go into action as Spider-Man, thus risking his life.) However, Peter Mary Jane recalls once more, and when she helped Liz Alan chews a wedding gown for her upcoming marriage to the recovered Harry Osborn, Mary Jane wondered aloud what Peter would think of seeing herself wearing one. Finally, Peter visited Mary Jane and presented her with a box of cracker Jacks in which she found a real diamond ring he had put inside. Peter then proposed to her, but the startled Mary Jane said she needed time to think about it. She soon return the ring, claiming shoes too much of her free spirit to settle down with one man. Peter and Mary Jane remain friends, but Mary Jane was upset by his departure on to the dates to go into action as Spider-Man and began avoiding him. She worked at another dance club called Studio 52. Mary Jane grew increasingly upset over the knowledge that Peter, whom she cared for so deeply, was constantly risking his life as Spider-Man. At last, having finished college, Mary Jane left knee York and went to Florida to help her Aunt Anna settle there. However, Mary Jane's real motive in leaving was to get away from Peter Parker and Spider-Man. In her absence, Peter had other romantic relationships, including one with a female costing adventurer known as the Black Cat. Eventually married Jane returned to New York and after a while the steady work as fashion model. Various friends tried to revive the romance between Peter and Mary Jane, but both of them resisted. Mary Jane dated a number of actors and man in the fashion industry, was pleased to have her just as a front. One day one of Spider-Man adversaries, the Puma, used his tracking ability and superhuman senses to track Spider-Man down to Peter Parker's apartment where Mary Jane was there visiting. Peter pushed her out of the apartment just before the Puma broke in. Mary Jane could hear the battle between Spider-Man and the Puma through the apartment's locked door. After the battle is over, Mary Jane went to Peter and told him she could no longer bear worry about the dangers he puts himself in and told her she knew he was Spider-Man. still, Mary Jane had no actual proof of Peter's double identity until at that moment the Black Cat, who is known to be Spider-Man companion, arrived at the apartment. In tears, Mary Jane hurriedly left the apartment. Mary Jane was about to leave New York but decided she would not run away from Peter. Returning to him, she told Peter her life story for the first time, and Peter decided he could trust her with his secret. Peter Mary Jane decided to stay together as close friends and confidants, while ruling out the possibility of becoming romantically involved once more. At long last Peter had a friend for whom he felt he did not have to hide his secret life as Spider-Man. Mary Jane continued to worry intensively about Parker's for risking his life, but remained steadfastly with him as his friend, even bravely facing danger posed to both of them by the original Hobgoblin and a new version of the Spider Slayer. As time passed, Peter and Mary Jane realized that they were deceiving themselves about the depth of their feelings for one another, and that they were very much in love. Peter proposed marriage to Mary Jane the second time. She did not accept immediately. She left for Pittsburgh, where her sister, Gail, had been sent to prison. Mary Jane helped the police arrest the real culprit, her father, Philip, who heads stolen our rear manuscript. Mary Jane was reconciled with Gail after the years of tension between them. Right afterwards Mary Jane accepted Peter's proposal. Peter and Mary Jane got married on the front steps of New York City's City Hall, with her uncle, Spencer Watson, a judge, presiding over the ceremony. They spent their honeymoon in France and made their home in a condominium apartment that Mary Jane was able to afford thanks to her highly successful modeling career. However, a multi millionaire named Jonathon Caesar became obsessed Mary Jane and even held her prisoner for a time. Marry Jane regained her freedom and Caesar was sent to prison. However Caesar took his revenge for being rejected by Mary Jane by having her and Peter evicted from their apartment. Moreover, Caesar used his influence to blacklist Mary Jane from getting modeling jobs, and has even gone so far as to purchase companies to prevent them from hiring her. Her savings frozen to legal matters, Mary Jane and Peter moved into the home of May Parker for a time. However, Peter and Mary Jane have now moved into a new apartment in a building that is owned by their friend Harry Osborn and is located in Manhattan's SoHo district. Mary Jane has also returned to acting in his one role on a daytime serial secret hospital. Height: 5'8" Weight: 120 lbs (55 kg) Eyes: Green Hair: Red Unusual Features: No unusual features Strength Level: Mary Jane Watson-Parker possesses a normal human strength of a woman of her age, height and build engages in moderate regular exercise. Known Powers: No known powers. Known Abilities: Mary Jane Watson-Parker is an accomplished professional actress, dancer, and model. Equipment: No known equipment. Transportation: No known transportation. Weapons: No known weapons. Notes: No special notes. ---- Related Articles: * Spider-Man ---- External Links: ---- References: * Marvel Directory ---- Return to Character Selection ----